Come, Follow Me
READ
The smell of fish hung heavy in the morning air as Simon and Andrew cast their nets into the familiar waters of Galilee. It was just another ordinary day of backbreaking work – the same routine they'd followed since childhood, learning the trade from their fathers just as their fathers had learned from theirs. The rhythm was predictable: cast, wait, pull, sort, sell, repeat. Then everything changed with four simple words: "Come, follow me."
Let’s take a moment to read Matthew 4:18-22:
As Jesus was walking beside the Sea of Galilee, he saw two brothers, Simon called Peter and his brother Andrew. They were casting a net into the lake, for they were fishermen. “Come, follow me,” Jesus said, “and I will send you out to fish for people.” At once they left their nets and followed him.
Going on from there, he saw two other brothers, James son of Zebedee and his brother John. They were in a boat with their father Zebedee, preparing their nets. Jesus called them, and immediately they left the boat and their father and followed him.
REFLECT
When Jesus approached these seasoned fishermen, He wasn't just offering them a career change. He was extending an invitation that would revolutionize their understanding of purpose, identity, and life itself. The call to follow Jesus isn't about switching professions – it's about discovering who you were created to be and joining God's mission in the world.
The word "follow" here isn't about a casual stroll behind someone. It's the Greek word akoloutheo, which means to accompany as a disciple, to conform to His example, and to side with His party. This is the language of allegiance, of life-altering commitment. These fishermen weren't just changing careers; they were embracing a new identity.
Notice what Jesus promised: "I will make you fishers of men." He didn't ask them to transform themselves or figure out their new purpose alone. Instead, He offered to train them, to shape them into something they could never become on their own. This is the heart of discipleship – not our effort to become better people, but Christ's power working in us to transform us from the inside out.
The disciples' immediate response reveals something crucial about following Jesus: it requires both preparation and reception. Their hearts had been prepared through previous encounters with Jesus and His message. But they also had to be receptive – willing to drop their nets, leave their comfort zones, and trust this rabbi with their futures.
What's remarkable is that Jesus doesn't call perfect people. He calls ordinary fishermen, tax collectors, and doubters. He calls people like you and me. The invitation hasn't changed: "Come, follow me." But following Jesus means more than intellectual agreement or occasional church attendance. It means allowing our interests, attitudes, and ways of living to be shaped by His example.
Discipleship begins with a call, but it's lived out in the ongoing process of being trained by Jesus. Like those first disciples, we're invited into a relationship that will fundamentally change who we are becoming. The nets we need to drop might be different – our need for control, our pursuit of comfort, our fear of what others think – but the call remains the same.
Jesus doesn't just want admirers; He wants apprentices. He's looking for people willing to be trained in His way of love, empowered by His life, and then help others do the same. This is what it means to be a disciple – not just a believer, but a follower whose whole life reflects the influence of their Teacher.
RESPOND
Take a moment to process what God might be leading you to do in light of what you read.
What "nets" in your life might Jesus be calling you to drop in order to follow Him more fully?
How have you experienced Jesus "making you" into something you couldn't become on your own?
In what areas of your life do you need to move from being an admirer of Jesus to being His apprentice?
REST
Take a moment to rest in God’s presence and consider one thing you can take away from your time reading, then close your devotional experience by praying:
Lord Jesus, thank You for calling me to be Your disciple. Help me to have the same readiness as those first fishermen to drop whatever keeps me from following You wholeheartedly. Shape my interests, attitudes, and ways of living to look more like Yours. Train me in Your way of love and empower me to help others discover the joy of being Your disciple. Amen.